Aerating device



March 8, 1966 H, BAcHLl ETAL 3,239,152

AERATING DEVICE Filed May 4, 1964 wir. l *mr uw vm United StatesPatent() 3,239,152 AERATING DEVICE Herman Bachli, Chicago, and Eugene B.Shapiro, Skokie, Ill., assiguors to Chicago Specialty Manufacturing Co.,Skokie, Ill., a corporation of Illinois Filed May 4, 1964, Ser. No.364,695 8 Claims. (Cl. 239-431) This invention relates to an aeratingdevice, and more particularly to an aerator for use with a water faucet.

One of the objects of this invention is to provide an aerator withscreens yor foraminous members having their surfaces embossed so thatwhen the screens or foraminous members are in superposed position theyare properly spaced with respect lto each other -by reason of theernbossings.

In the construction of the -aerators presently on the market, or asexemplified by the prior art, a plurality of screens are positioned insuperimposed relation and various means are employed for providing thespacing therebetween. In certain instances the edges of the screens areprovided with specially constructed rims which provide the spacings andin other instances separate spacing members are interposed. Theforegoing type structures increase the cost of the devices and increasethe number of parts utilized. With this invention the screens arepreshaped or embossed in such a manner that the surfaces provideembossings or undulations so that when they are in superposed positionthey are properly spaced with respect to each other. The boss-ings 'orundulations of the screens serve to position and properly space thescreens with respect to each other to achieve the desired results andhence eliminate the use of the structures of the prior art.

Another object of this invention is to provide an aerator in which theair enters adjacent the discharge end Arather than through the side andin which an -air space is provided between the outer 'casing and aninner shell so that the air enters in said spacing and is introducedinto the interior through suitable com-municating openings in the innershell.

Another object of this invention is to provide an areator with a sprayjet unit which is readily removable.

Another object of this invention is to provide an aeratin-g device whichis very simple and inexpensive to manufacture and which is highlyeicient in operation.

Other objects will become apparent as this description progresses.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the aerator forming thisinvention.

FIG. 2 is an exploded cross-sectional view `of the parts comprising theaerator shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of one of the screens.

PIG. 4 is an enlarged view of the three screens in superposed spacedrelation position.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged top plan view of the screen, and

FIG. 6 shows a modified form of spray jet unit that may be used in lieuof the spray jet unit shown in the preceding figures.

Referring to FIGS. l to S inclusive of the drawings, the aeratorincludes a tubular body or casing generally indicat-ed yby the numeral10. The upper inner surface of the casin-g 10 is threaded as at 12 toengage the externally threaded end 14 of the water faucet or tap 16. Theupper outer surface is externally threaded as at 15. The casing 10 isprovided with an annular recessed portion below the threaded portion 14,said annular recessed portion being indicated 17. The said recessedportion defines an annular shoulder or ledge 18.

ICC

Supported within the tubular body or casing 10 is an annular ring orshell generally indicated at 20. The shell or 1in-g has a tubular bodyportion with the lower end thereof turned inwardly lto form an inwardlyextending annular lip 22. The upper portion of the ybody of the shell isprovided with three elongated spaced slots 24, and the shell body abovethe aforementioned slots is enlarged to form an enlarged annular bodyportion adjacent the upper end, indicated by the numeral 26. The upperend of the enlarged body portion 26 is turned outwardly to form anannular outwardly extending lip 28.

The shell or ring 20 is positioned inside the casing 10 and is pressedinto the casing. It will be noted that with the shell body in `thecasing the outwardly extending lip 28 at the upper end rests on theshoulder or ledge 18 of the casing 10 and the shell body is spaced fromthe inner wall of the casing to provide the space indicated by thenumeral 30 'between the shell body and the interior of the casing. Theair is drawn into the aerator through the bottom or adjacent thedischarge end, as indicated by the arrows, and passes in the annularspace 30 -between the shell and the casing and into the interior of theshell 20 through the spaced communicating slots 24. It thus enters theonrushing water passing down through the interior of the shell for thepurpose of aerating same, as is understood.

Supported within the shell 10 are three screens or foraminous membersgenerally indicated at 32 which are the Amixing screens. The surfaces ofthe screens are so formed that when the screens are superposed there isa spaced relationship -between them, as :best seen in FIGS. l and 4.Each screen 32 is of circular shape and is formed of a brass wire clothand is embossed to form a plurality of equally spaced alternating raisedand depressed sections extending radially from a central at diameter.Each screen 32 Ihas a central flat annular portion 34 with radiallyextending alternating raised sections 36 and depressed sections 38. Thescreen is thus provided with a central raised portion 34 and withradially extending segments generally indicated at 40, each segmentincluding at one end the depressed section 38 and at its opposite endthe raised section 36. The segments 40 give the appearance of acontinuous corrugated band having alternate high and low surfaces.

When the screens are superposed, the high or raised portion of onescreen is contiguous to the depressed or low portion of the adjacentscreen, as best seen in FIGS. l and 4, to provide the necessary spacingbetween the screens. The lowermost screen rests on the inwardlyextending lip 22 of the shell 20, with the other superimposed screensresting on each other. With this arrangement the screens are offset andspaced from each other, which is essential to the operation of theaerator, without the necessity yof providing other spacing means orannular rims around each of the screen disks to provide the spacing.T-he screen disks may be thus formed =by a simple die pressedthereagainst and produced at a fraction of the cost heretofore requiredin producing spacing means between the screens.

The spray jet unit generally indicated at 42 includes a dish-shapedmember 44 provided with a concavo-convex surface 46 having spacedopenings 48 and a centrally positioned enlarged opening 50. The annularvertical wall of member 44 is turned outwardly at its upper end to forman annular lip 52 which rests on the lip 28 of the shell 20 .and issupported thereon. The dish-shaped member 44 nests within the enlargedupper portion 26 of the she-ll 20. The spray jet unit includes acircular plate 54 adapted to rest on the flange or l-ip 52 of thedish-shaped member 44. The plate 54 has an enlarged central opening 56.A cotter pin 58 extends through the opening in the plate 54 anddishshaped member 44 and the ends of the legs of said cotter pin arespread to diverge in opposite directions for securing said cotter pin.The upper end or curved head of the cotter pin extends upwardly of theplate 54 so that it may be manually engaged when it is desired to liftor remove the spray jet unit 42 from the casing. A resilient ring orwasher S6 rests on the top of the plate 54.

The aerator is attached to the end of the faucet 16 through the threadedengagement previously described. In operation, as water flows from thefaucet through the aerator, the air will pass up into the aeratorthrough the bottom of the aerator, into the chamber 30 between the wallof the casing and the inside shell and into the interior of the shellthrough the spaced slotted openings to mix with the flowing water. Thewater from the faucet will pass from the faucet through the spray jetunit 42 and through the spaced screens which are the mixing screens, tbe discharged through the bottom of the aerator.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view of the modification of a spray jet unit whichmay be substituted for the spray jet unit 42. In other details theaerator remains the same as previously described. In this modificationthe spray jet unit, generally indicated at 60, comprises a funnel-shapedcanopy 62 which ares upwardly as at 64 and is provided with a restrictedinlet opening 66. A fiat disk or diaphragm 68 is secured to the canopyby crimping the lower end of the canopy over the disk 68. The disk 68 isprovided with a plural-ity of spaced openings 70. Extending upwardly ofthe disk 68 and formed therewith is a stud 71 which extends through thecanopy opening and has a knob 72 on the end, whereby it may he manuallyengaged for inserting or removing the spray jet unit.'

The liquid from the water faucet 16 enters t-he central restricted inletopening 66 of the spray jet unit and passes through the openings 70 ofthe disk 68. The spray jet unit increases the pressure of the liquidentering the unit and it is discharged through the disk 68 in a fin'estream or spray. The same is equally true with respect to the spray jetunit 42 in FIG. l. The central restricted inlet opening of the plate andthe openings in the dish-shaped member increase the pressure of theliquid entering the unit and discharges it through the openings in afine strea-rn or jet.

It will he understood that various changes and modifications may be madefrom the foregoing without departing from the spirit and scope of theappended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A device for aerating a liquid under pressure, comprising a casinghaving an inlet and an outlet, a shell supported within said casing, aplurality of screens supported in said shell adjacent the outletthereof, each said screen being embossed to form a plurality of radiallyextending segments, each segment including at one end a depressedsection and at its opposite end a raised section so that when thescreens are in superposed relation spaces are provided therebetween.

2. A structure defined in claim 1 in which the shell is spaced from saidcasing to provide an air inlet adjacent the outlet of said casing.

3. A structure defined in claim 1 in which a spray jet means ispositioned adjacent the upper end of the shell and within said casing.

4. A structure defined in claim 3 in which the spray jet means includesa dish-shaped member provided with a plurality of spaced openings, withsaid dish-shaped member supported on the upper end of said shell, and aplate having a central opening positioned upwardly of said dishshapedmember.

5. A structure defined in claim 3 in which the spray jet means hasupwardly extending means which may be manually engaged to remove saidspray jet means.

6. A structure defined in claim 3 in which the spray jet means includesa canopy member and a plate supported within said canopy.

7. A structure defined in claim 6 in which the plate has means extendingupwardly thereof and through the canopy to be manually engaged forremoving said spray jet means as a unit.

8. A structure defined in claim 1 in which the embossed screens eachhave a central circular at area with the segments extending radiallyoutward of the central flat area.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,774,584 12/1956Aghn-ides. 2,787,452 4/ 1957 Aghnides. 2,849,217 8/1958 Bachli et al.2,929,567 3/ 1960 Aghnidcs. 2,998,930 9/1961 Aghndes.

FOREIGN PATENTS 1,270,477 7/ 1961 France.

EVERETT W. KIRBY, Primary Examiner.

1. A DEVICE FOR AERATING A LIQUID UNDER PRESSURE, COMPRISING A CASINGHAVING AN INLET AND AN OUTLET, A SHELL SUPPORTED WITHIN SAID CASING, APLURALITY OF SCREENS SUPPORTED IN SAID SHELL ADJACENT THE OUTLETTHEREOF, EACH SAID SCREEN BEING EMBOSSED TO FORM A PLURALITY OF RADIALLYEXTENDING SEGMENTS, EACH SEGMENT INCLUDING AT ONE END A DEPRESSEDSECTION AND AT ITS OPPOSITE END A RAISED SECTION SO THAT